by KYW's Mike Dunn

"A black eye" is how one Philadelphia city councilman describes the soon-to-be-defunct Wireless Philadelphia mess (see related story), after word emerged on Friday that then-mayor John Street wrote off a $1 million+ city loan to the effort.

"Wireless Philadelphia" got off the ground in the Street administration thanks to a $1.4 million loan from the city. And at the time, City Council members voiced concern that the loan might become a grant. 

Now, Wireless Philadelphia chief Greg Goldman confirms a published report that former mayor Street wrote off the loan before his term in office ended. Councilman Frank Rizzo (right), a longtime critic of the project, is not surprised:

"This is something that people are going to say that they shouldn't have done and they did it, that the government is not good at this. It's a black eye. No question, it's a black eye."

But Goldman says that the $1.4 million served as stimulus for much more, including $2 million in direct payments to the city from Earthlink.

(File photo)